Broward Sheriff's deputy laid to rest

FORT LAUDERDALE — Daniel J. Rivera was remembered as a passionate self-improver, a loving family man and dedicated deputy during his funeral Friday morning.

Rivera, 32, was severely injured Sept. 11 in a single-vehicle crash along Interstate 95 while on his way to work in the Broward Sheriff's Pompano Beach district. He died Sept. 21. The crash is being investigated by BSO.

Mourners said Rivera was a martial artist, proud of having 7 percent body fat and passing his swimming test on the third try.

His flag-draped coffin was in Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning, where some of the 30 bouquets that decorated the stage stood on either side to honor the road patrolman who loved to serve warrants.

"I pray I never have to do this again," Sheriff Scott Israel said about Rivera, who also was a certified EMT. "Everything Danny did, he did with honor, courage and with a smile on his face."

Approximately 1,800 people filled the chapel, including fire personnel and law enforcement from around the state. Bagpipers and a riderless horse were rituals of the service.

Gov. Rick Scott said he spoke with a heavy heart and that society is indebted to individuals like Rivera. The men also had something in common.

"He rooted for a losing team," Scott said of Rivera's love for the Mets. "I grew up in Kansas City, Mo., and the Royals have never, ever gotten anywhere."

Noting police funerals he has attended across Florida, Scott said, "I am a Christian. And to this day, I always wonder why so many bad things happen to such wonderful people."

Relatives and friends said Rivera was an auxiliary officer with the New York Police Department in East New York, Brooklyn. He moved to Florida when he was 19. He worked as a security guard at a Miami Lexus dealership before becoming a BSO detention deputy and transferring to law enforcement last year.

Survivors include his mother, Miriam Cuin,a captain with the New York City Department of Corrections. His father, Antonio Cuin, is a warden with that department, BSO said.

Andrea Mendez dated Rivera for two years, and the love of her life was preparing to propose.

"We met on Match.com," Mendez said. "Yes, that stuff works. After a few months of dating, he told me that I was the best $80 he ever spent."

She said her "extraordinary man" would unwind with a "Johnnie Walker in one hand and a cigar in the other" after a shift, and was "a protector" who faced a restaurant's door when they dined out.

After the service, a motorcade escorted Rivera's casket to the Our Lady Queen of Heaven cemetery in North Lauderdale, where Israel presented the coffin flag to his parents.

There was a 21-gun salute, a bugler played "Taps" and the pipers and drummers performed "Amazing Grace." Three BSO helicopters approached overhead and, once above the grave, one flew on off on its own, representing the missing man, spokeswoman Dani Moschella said.